Clothes-washer



(NoModeL) J. T. CAMPBELL.

CLOTHES WASHER. No. 358,646. Patented Mar. 1', 1887.

WITNESSES: IN VENTOB.

ATTORNEYS.

Nv PETERS. Pnole-uxhc mphw. Wa'shmglnn. 11Cv JAMES T. CAMPBELL, OF SUGAR GROVE, PENNSYLVANIA.

CLOTH ES' WASHER.

EPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. ceases, dated March 1, 1887.

Application filed March 20, 1886.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that 1, JAMES T. CAMPBELL, of Sugar Grove, in the county of WVarren and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Pneumatic Clothes-Washer, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to pneumatic machines for cleansing clothes, and has for its object to provide a simple, inexpensive, and durable machine of this class, by which clothes may be washed thoroughly and with economy of time and labor.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combination of parts of the washingmachine, all as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is avertical section elevation of the clothes-washer. Fig. 2 is a plan view, with parts in section on the line w 00, Fig. 1. Fig. '3 is a plan view of the packing of the pistonin the lower cylinder; and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the pistonliead, packing, and valve of the upper cylinder.

An upper cylinder, A, and alower cylinder, 13, are attached to suitable opposite uprights or posts, 0 C and to the lower cylinder about at its center is connected a downwardly-flaring annular plate, D, the lower edge of which is about level with the lower end of the cylinder B, and whereby an air-space, E, is formed between the cylinder B and plate D.

The upper end of the cylinder A is closed by a plate, A, and opposite tubes or pipes, F F, open atf into the cylinder A at or near its top, and extend downward to and through the flaring plate D, and open atf into the lower air-space, E. A ring or band, a, is secured around the lower edge of the cylinder A, and a ring or band, I), is secured around the upper edge of the cylinder B, to strengthen the, cylinders and hold them true to shape.

In the opposite posts, 0 0, there is journaled a shaft, G, which has a central crank, H, the crossbar h of which works in a slot, t, ranging horizontally across the center of a frame or plate, I, which is connected at opposite ends to the pistons J K, which work in the Scrial No. 195,969. (No model.)

cylinders A B, respectively, as the crankshaft G H is turned by a handle,L, applied at one end of it.

The piston J of cylinder A is made with a central rubber or other flexible plate, M, split at the edge all around and turned reverse ways to form double lips'm m, which lie against the inner face of the cylinder, and at opposite sides ofplate M there are placed on the stem 2" of the frame I the dished or concave-convex elastic metal plates N N, the plate N resting on a shoulder or collar, n, on the stem i, and the plate N being held to place by a nut, a, threaded onto the upper end of the stem. These elastic plates N N fit all around in the angles where the lips m m are bent from the main body of the plate M, and whereby,when the nut n is screwed down on the stem t", the edges of the plates N N will be pressed outward to force the packing-lips m m tightly to the wall of the cylinder A at any time required to secure a perfectly airtight fit of the piston in the cylinder.

The plate M has a valve, 0, which preferably is a flap-valve cut or formed by slitting the plate through for most of the way around the valve and leaving an uncut place at one side to form a hinge at 0, on which the valve may open upward from its beveled seat, as in Fig. 1. The plates N N are provided with openings at o 0 respectively, opposite the valve 0, for the passage of air, as hereinafter more fully explained.

The piston K of the cylinder B is made with opposite eoncavo-convex elastic metal plates, P,which fit at opposite sides of an annular packing,which consists of a ring, R, of flexible material scarfed to make a diagonallyranging joint at 9*,(see Fig. 8,) and split at its periphery and bent or turned reverse ways to form the packing-lips r r, which bear on the inner face of the cylinder. The plate 1? rests against a shoulder or collar, 1), on the stem i of frame I, and a nut, 12, on the extremity of the stem may be screwed up to cause the plates P P to press the packing-lips rr closely to the cylinder for insuring an air-tight joint of the piston K therewith. The piston K is valveless, as it is intended to draw and force water as it moves in opposite directions, and as present-1y explained.

A handle, S, fixed to the top of the washer enables the operator to hold the washer to place with one hand, while the other hand turns the crank to work the pistons.

The operation is as follows: As the crankhandle L is turned and the pistons J K rise a vacuum will be formed in the lower cylinder, B, and the Water in the tub in which the washer B is placed will be sucked or drawn upward through the clothes on which the washer rests, and at the same time the hot air rising from the tub which had passed above the open valve 0 of piston J on the last down stroke of said piston, will be forced by the rising piston J into the pipes or tubes F F and down them into the air-space E, and whereby the water in said space will be forced downward through the clothes. On the succeeding downstroke of the piston J K the valveO of piston J will open to admit hot air from the tub to the cylinder A, to be expelled therefrom and returned to the tub when the piston next rises, as above explained, and the piston K will force the hot water which had been sucked up into cylinder B on the preceding upstroke of the piston back again into the tub and through the clothes.

It will be seen that the air forced downward from the cylinder A'into the tub as the piston J rises is hot or warm air, which does not quickly cool the washing water or liquid and aids the clothes-cleansing process considerably, and that the water is carried through the clothes on both the up and down strokes of the lower piston, K; hence the clothes will be washed very thoroughly, with economy of time and labor, and the clothes will not beinj ured, and the water will not be splashed from the wash-tub, and a large or small quantity of clothes may be washed with equally good results.

and a valveless piston in the cylinder B, a

lower plate, D, fixed to the cylinder B, and providing an air-space. E, outside said cylinder, and pipes, as at F, connecting the cylinder A and air-space E, substantially as herein shown anddescribed, and for the purposes set forth. v

2. The combination, in a clothes-washer, and with the aligned cylinders A B, having valved and valveless pistons, respectively, the plate D on cylinder B, providing an airspace, E, outside of said cylinder, and pipes F, connecting cylinder A and air-space E, substantially as specified, of a cranked shaft, G H, a slotted frame, I i, and stems i i connecting the frame I z with the pistons of cylinders A B, substantially as shown and described, and for the purposes set forth.

3. The pistons of the washer-cylinders, made with opposite-bent lips, as at m r, and with opposite elastic concavo-convex plates, as at N N P P, fitted on the piston rod or stem at opposite sides of the packings and at the bends of the lips m r, and an adj Listing-screw, as at np, substantially asand for the purposes herein set forth.

' JAMES T. CAMPBELL. Witnesses:

CHARLES S. MIDDLETON, LEE MICKELSON. 

